Chapter 1: The Heart of a Teacher: Identity and Integrity in Teaching
Reflections
After reading chapter 1 of The Courage to Teach, I was left shaking my head. I have always believed that if you don’t understand something you read then you should read it again. If you still don’t understand it, then it is just poor writing. In my opinion, this is poor writing. There are entire sections of the text that I have no earthly idea what the author is talking about. One thing is clear; she is not an elementary school teacher. As an administrator, I would be hard pressed to talk in the “language” of this author.
Early on he makes a key point in which he states, “in every class I teach, my ability to connect with my students, and to connect them with the subject, depends less on the methods I use than on the degree to which I know and trust my selfhood—and I am willing to make it available and vulnerable in the service of learning.” I don’t know what “selfhood” is, but I am not sure how trusting my selfhood is going to help my grammar lesson on helping verbs. As an instructional leader I believe in guarding time for teachers to collaborate and reflect on ways in which they can connect the students with the subject. It takes time, and as a leader I feel it is my duty to protect my teachers from extraneous demands of their time. This will be made easier with a vision and purpose statement that allows all at the school to focus on priorities. My job should be to keep time open to match our vision, and not put demands on teachers that make it easy for me or for the district. I need to act as gatekeeper to my teachers' time. Maybe with enough time to self reflect, the teachers will be able to find their "selfhood."
The author makes some interesting points that I agree with. He states that good teachers can use very different methods and achieve great results. This reminds me of the Built to Last and Good to Great studies by Collins and Porras. Her points on joining the self and subject and the point on connectedness, while very verbose, do make interesting and valuable points. I completely agree with her discussion on the need for teachers to talk and share. I think she misses the mark for elementary school teachers though, when she begins to talk about sharing our inner lives. Most elementary teachers I know share everything about their lives, inner, outer, whatever. Sharing is not the issue. The issue is finding the time and venue to do the sharing. This is where administrators must be adept at creating a culture of collaboration. I believe this should be of highest priority.
After reading her definitions of identity, integrity, and the intersection of the two and I can only say, “Huh?” I have no clue what He is talking about. So my guess is I have not had an intersection of identity and integrity, but I can dream!
The author then states, “No matter how technical my subject may be, the things I teach are things I care about—and what I care about helps define my selfhood.” So, in my case, my recent selfhood would be defined by my health lesson to sixth grade boys about the need for body deodorant, the proper way to run the bases during extreme kickball, and why you need to cross-multiply when doing proportions. Of course she teaches a few college courses and I teach math, reading, vocabulary, grammar, writing, science, social studies, P.E, art, and health, but hey what’s a few entire content areas between friends? As an administrator I believe my most precious resource is time and how I manage the time of my staff. I want to give it and protect it so that my staff can maximize it. If they are given time, then they will have time to reflect and analyze.
Finally, the author drives home this valuable point, “When I forgot my own inner multiplicity and my own long and continuing journey toward selfhood, my expectations of students become excessive and unreal. If I can remember the inner pluralism of my own soul and slow the pace of my own self-emergence, I will be better able to serve the pluralism among my students at the pace of their young lives.” I will try to remember to my inner multiplicity the next time I go to sharpen some pencils and pick up a couple of boxes of tissues for all the runny noses in my room. My inner pluralism will be remembered each time a parent calls to complain that I benched a kid for not doing his homework. Maybe my own self-emergence will emerge during my 30 minute lunch, but only if I skip waiting for the microwave. As an administrator I would encourage teachers to be reflective and cognizant of their craft, but always with the knowledge that we already ask more of them than is possible. Whatever I ask of them in the realm of reflection and analysis should be realistic and useful.
Reflections
This is my very first reflection. It reminds of BTSA!!
Love the cigar - smoke 'em if you got 'em (The choice is yours) ...Amy
Hi Rob- Thanks for being in this class. I'm having a lot of fun teaching it... actually, I always have fun when I present, I guess that's why I do it. -Ted... or the PodPiper
I love the technology. The world is flat and technology is brining us closer together. As Tom Peters might say, "Distance is Dead."
I recently read the book The Fortune At the Bottom of the Pyramid. It descibes farmers in India using the internet to check commodity prices in Chicago before taking their crops to the market. Yep, technology is bringing us all closer.
Technology is a means to deliver high power content in the classroom, while meeting the needs of today's students. They like to mult-taks and have choices. Computers provide that. Time Magazine did a great piece on how the children of today even think differently because of the use of technology. They are on line, while using a word processing program, while adding photos and music to their work, while they are instant messaging each other. This is how they work and think. We have to adjust to meet their needs.
Wiki's are a great means of social networking. Social networking is a force on the internet. Some of the biggest websites out there are social networking sites like MySpace or FaceBook. We need to learn how to use these technologies to our advantage
What has all the recent exposure to technology in education seemingly failed to anticipate of mention? The answer is the text book manufactures. Let’s face it, the text book as we know it today is going to be a thing of the past once computers get into the hands of most students. Text book companies have already read the writing on the wall and are taking steps to stay ahead of the curve. I piloted a social studies text book series last year that had the book online or on CD. The catch, it is more expensive to buy the CD version or online version than the hardback book. Why?
Text book companies know that is where education is headed and they are there waiting to charge districts more money. Granted, it costs text book companies more to develop the technology that accompanies books, but I am quite sure the cost is outpaced by the profit.
Text book companies are going to have to become more like software development companies. Especially in social studies and science where interactive websites, movies, lesson planning software and audio versions of the text are going to be in high demand. Technology brings these subjects alive like no other. Text book companies are going to have to adjust to the technology or face competition from small companies that can produce desirable websites, on-line movies, etc. Many like Explore Learning, Brain Pop, and others already exist.
The question then becomes, how will district administrators anticipate this eventual situation and move to put their districts in the best possible position to purchase, implement, and support these technologies. Hmm....
The Vision:
To empower a future generation of American citizens who are prepared for the 21st century challenges of a global community.
We passionately and purposefully commit ourselves to:
Embracingand holding ourselves accountable tothe challenges and standards set forth in polices, procedures, and mandates of our local, state, and federal stakeholders.
Becoming a professional community of innovative life-long learners and servant leaders.
Establishing technology and fine arts as catalysts for creating purposeful academic opportunities and choices for students to collaborate, innovate, build, create, think critically, problem solve, and embrace diversity.
Taking actions and making decisions that are purposeful, consistent, and informed.
Building a school site that is both physically and mentally beautiful, supportive, safe, and secure.
Valuing results and relationships.
Challenge the status quo.
Reflections on creating a vision:
I firmly believe that a vision is absolutely necessary for the success of any organization. I have found the study of vision statements and the process of developing my own to a useful and thought provoking. As a committed "true believer" of the Professional Learning Community model, I feel that I am entitled to ask some hard questions.
I have yet to hear a satisfactory answer to the real world reality that an administrator is being asked to get the input for the vision from people on the staffs that have no business being in education in the first place. The reality is that there are people on every staff that are negative naysayers about everything. How should an administrator deal with this reality, if “every" person is to have input and say on the vision?
We are crafting visions that must take into account the political realities of federal, state, county, and local district rules, regulations, and priorities; not to mention unions that protect inept teachers, and budget restrictions that tie the hands of most administrators to allocate funds to vision priorities. An administrator is asked to craft a vision with a staff that in most cases he or she did not hire and that he or she cannot easily get “off the bus.” This doesn’t exactly inspire passion and excitement. People buy into the leader, not the vision. Every great movement in the history of the world was about the leader first, then the vision second. As the saying goes, "People don't care what you know, until they know that you care." My experience in the Marine Corps, law enforcement, small business, and corporate, has given me the opportunity to serve under leaders I would follow with undeveloped visions and other leaders who I would question and doubt regardless the power of their vision. This is not to say there aren't visions that have overcome poor leadership, of course that has happened, but with much struggle and wasted time. For the most part a great vision will rise on fall on the shoulders of the leader.
Further, in nearly every organization in the world, someone is held accountable for failure. Not so in education. If the vision fails, who is held accountable for its failure? The principal is the easy answer. What about teachers? Do they bear any responsibility in the failure of a vision? If they do, what should be done? If we are all responsible for crafting the vision, should we not all be held responsible for the vision's success or failure? But, while there maybe awards and plaques for a successful vision, nothing will happen to those who are responsible for a vision failing. No loss of money, employment, or status. Will a mediocre staff make a great vision? Will a great vision make a mediocre staff great?
I am struck that an acceptable educational vision is made up obviously identifiable component parts. If they are so obviously identifiable and required to make a vision into an "acceptable vision," then why aren't all the schools just operating off of various versions or forms of the same vision? I mean, why doesn't someone just tell them what to write and be done with it. Putting vision creation into some straightforward formula where the results meet some pre-ordained vision type doesn't exactly inspire a lot of passion.
Vision involves passion. Passion implies risk. Risk is something most governmental organizations are averse to. Visions are risky are require passion. Are we ready to passionately pursue the risk of success or failure? However, without vision "the people perish." It is absolutely critical.
Vision Matrix
Leader
Vision
Result
Don't buy into the leader
Don't buy into the vision
Find a new leader
Don't buy into the leader
Buy into the vision
Find a new leader
Buy into the leader
Don't buy into the vision
Change the vision
Buy into the leader
Buy into the vision
Get behind both
Nondiscussable Subjects: School Culture
Rob Jacobs
Nondiscussable Subjects at My School
Last year I could have discussed easily much of the nondiscussable subjects at my school site. This year, however, has brought a new principal, and six new teachers to our school site. This has forced me to learn a whole new set of non-discussable knowledge.
One of the first things that comes to mind in where people sit at lunch. It really seems to rotate when we sit in the lounge, however, when we sit outside on our patio everyone seems to have assigned seats. It was never formalized, it just developed and is now quietly adhered to. Also, parking spots were never assigned, but everyone parks in the same spots. When I see a car I don’t recognize in a spot that “belongs” to a teacher I wonder who the person is that would park in that teacher’s spot. This is a major non-discussable for substitutes and student teachers. Even if teachers don’t say anything, everybody knows that someone is parking in someone else’s spot.
Probably the most difficult nondiscussable subject knowledge gap is those who don’t know about the cliques. Cliques are a very tangible and real part of my school site. There are certain teachers that can not stand each other and this grows into that teacher’s friends being expected to not like the other teacher as well. You are expected to show loyalty to your group by not sitting next to teachers from the other group and not speaking well of teachers from the other group in front of your group. With the new principal, one group that was very close to the old principal suddenly found itself outside looking in as a new group of teachers became the favorites. What is especially funny to watch is a teacher who is unaware of the cliques try to bring teachers from opposing cliques together to work on something. In addition, many teachers do not feel free to discuss matters involving the new principal around certain teachers viewed as favorites of the principal.
As a leader the only way to initiate conversation about a school’s non-discussable subjects is to ask questions. A leader must ask as many non-confrontational and non-judgmental questions as possible. The leader needs to ask lots of questions about why things are done a certain way or why things are not done. The answers to those questions will create the opportunity for even more questions and, in turn, even more knowledge about the school and the teachers who work there. Parents are also a good a resource to question about school culture.
Equally important is listening to the words that are used to answer these questions. Do the words seem to be open and free or do they closed and tentative. Words are powerful expressions of the staff’s thoughts on the subjects being discussed. This impacts the school culture in the form on nondiscussables. So, it is imperative that the site administrator ask great questions, listen to what and how the questions are answered, and then ask some more great questions.
Teacher X (a.k.a. Rob J.)
Welcome
Rob Jacobs M.Ed.
Room 9: Sixth Grade
WhereEVA
WhenEVA
HowEVA
WhatEVA
The Best Class EVA
The Courage to Teach
Chapter 1: The Heart of a Teacher: Identity and Integrity in Teaching
Reflections
After reading chapter 1 of The Courage to Teach, I was left shaking my head. I have always believed that if you don’t understand something you read then you should read it again. If you still don’t understand it, then it is just poor writing. In my opinion, this is poor writing. There are entire sections of the text that I have no earthly idea what the author is talking about. One thing is clear; she is not an elementary school teacher. As an administrator, I would be hard pressed to talk in the “language” of this author.
Early on he makes a key point in which he states, “in every class I teach, my ability to connect with my students, and to connect them with the subject, depends less on the methods I use than on the degree to which I know and trust my selfhood—and I am willing to make it available and vulnerable in the service of learning.” I don’t know what “selfhood” is, but I am not sure how trusting my selfhood is going to help my grammar lesson on helping verbs. As an instructional leader I believe in guarding time for teachers to collaborate and reflect on ways in which they can connect the students with the subject. It takes time, and as a leader I feel it is my duty to protect my teachers from extraneous demands of their time. This will be made easier with a vision and purpose statement that allows all at the school to focus on priorities. My job should be to keep time open to match our vision, and not put demands on teachers that make it easy for me or for the district. I need to act as gatekeeper to my teachers' time. Maybe with enough time to self reflect, the teachers will be able to find their "selfhood."
The author makes some interesting points that I agree with. He states that good teachers can use very different methods and achieve great results. This reminds me of the Built to Last and Good to Great studies by Collins and Porras. Her points on joining the self and subject and the point on connectedness, while very verbose, do make interesting and valuable points. I completely agree with her discussion on the need for teachers to talk and share. I think she misses the mark for elementary school teachers though, when she begins to talk about sharing our inner lives. Most elementary teachers I know share everything about their lives, inner, outer, whatever. Sharing is not the issue. The issue is finding the time and venue to do the sharing. This is where administrators must be adept at creating a culture of collaboration. I believe this should be of highest priority.
After reading her definitions of identity, integrity, and the intersection of the two and I can only say, “Huh?” I have no clue what He is talking about. So my guess is I have not had an intersection of identity and integrity, but I can dream!
The author then states, “No matter how technical my subject may be, the things I teach are things I care about—and what I care about helps define my selfhood.” So, in my case, my recent selfhood would be defined by my health lesson to sixth grade boys about the need for body deodorant, the proper way to run the bases during extreme kickball, and why you need to cross-multiply when doing proportions. Of course she teaches a few college courses and I teach math, reading, vocabulary, grammar, writing, science, social studies, P.E, art, and health, but hey what’s a few entire content areas between friends? As an administrator I believe my most precious resource is time and how I manage the time of my staff. I want to give it and protect it so that my staff can maximize it. If they are given time, then they will have time to reflect and analyze.
Finally, the author drives home this valuable point, “When I forgot my own inner multiplicity and my own long and continuing journey toward selfhood, my expectations of students become excessive and unreal. If I can remember the inner pluralism of my own soul and slow the pace of my own self-emergence, I will be better able to serve the pluralism among my students at the pace of their young lives.” I will try to remember to my inner multiplicity the next time I go to sharpen some pencils and pick up a couple of boxes of tissues for all the runny noses in my room. My inner pluralism will be remembered each time a parent calls to complain that I benched a kid for not doing his homework. Maybe my own self-emergence will emerge during my 30 minute lunch, but only if I skip waiting for the microwave. As an administrator I would encourage teachers to be reflective and cognizant of their craft, but always with the knowledge that we already ask more of them than is possible. Whatever I ask of them in the realm of reflection and analysis should be realistic and useful.
Reflections
This is my very first reflection. It reminds of BTSA!!Love the cigar - smoke 'em if you got 'em (The choice is yours) ...Amy
Hi Rob- Thanks for being in this class. I'm having a lot of fun teaching it... actually, I always have fun when I present, I guess that's why I do it. -Ted... or the PodPiper
I love the technology. The world is flat and technology is brining us closer together. As Tom Peters might say, "Distance is Dead."
I recently read the book The Fortune At the Bottom of the Pyramid. It descibes farmers in India using the internet to check commodity prices in Chicago before taking their crops to the market. Yep, technology is bringing us all closer.
Technology is a means to deliver high power content in the classroom, while meeting the needs of today's students. They like to mult-taks and have choices. Computers provide that. Time Magazine did a great piece on how the children of today even think differently because of the use of technology. They are on line, while using a word processing program, while adding photos and music to their work, while they are instant messaging each other. This is how they work and think. We have to adjust to meet their needs.
Wiki's are a great means of social networking. Social networking is a force on the internet. Some of the biggest websites out there are social networking sites like MySpace or FaceBook. We need to learn how to use these technologies to our advantage
Take my survey Monkey!!
Message from a Monkey
How to go up the corporate ladder.
How is the weather?
Check out my bookmarks. Good Stuff brother!!!
http://www.iKeepBookmarks.com/Robert_Jacobs
Rant:
What has all the recent exposure to technology in education seemingly failed to anticipate of mention? The answer is the text book manufactures. Let’s face it, the text book as we know it today is going to be a thing of the past once computers get into the hands of most students. Text book companies have already read the writing on the wall and are taking steps to stay ahead of the curve. I piloted a social studies text book series last year that had the book online or on CD. The catch, it is more expensive to buy the CD version or online version than the hardback book. Why?Text book companies know that is where education is headed and they are there waiting to charge districts more money. Granted, it costs text book companies more to develop the technology that accompanies books, but I am quite sure the cost is outpaced by the profit.
Text book companies are going to have to become more like software development companies. Especially in social studies and science where interactive websites, movies, lesson planning software and audio versions of the text are going to be in high demand. Technology brings these subjects alive like no other. Text book companies are going to have to adjust to the technology or face competition from small companies that can produce desirable websites, on-line movies, etc. Many like Explore Learning, Brain Pop, and others already exist.
The question then becomes, how will district administrators anticipate this eventual situation and move to put their districts in the best possible position to purchase, implement, and support these technologies. Hmm....
The Vision:
To empower a future generation of American citizens who are prepared for the 21st century challenges of a global community.
We passionately and purposefully commit ourselves to:
Reflections on creating a vision:
I firmly believe that a vision is absolutely necessary for the success of any organization. I have found the study of vision statements and the process of developing my own to a useful and thought provoking. As a committed "true believer" of the Professional Learning Community model, I feel that I am entitled to ask some hard questions.I have yet to hear a satisfactory answer to the real world reality that an administrator is being asked to get the input for the vision from people on the staffs that have no business being in education in the first place. The reality is that there are people on every staff that are negative naysayers about everything. How should an administrator deal with this reality, if “every" person is to have input and say on the vision?
We are crafting visions that must take into account the political realities of federal, state, county, and local district rules, regulations, and priorities; not to mention unions that protect inept teachers, and budget restrictions that tie the hands of most administrators to allocate funds to vision priorities. An administrator is asked to craft a vision with a staff that in most cases he or she did not hire and that he or she cannot easily get “off the bus.” This doesn’t exactly inspire passion and excitement. People buy into the leader, not the vision. Every great movement in the history of the world was about the leader first, then the vision second. As the saying goes, "People don't care what you know, until they know that you care." My experience in the Marine Corps, law enforcement, small business, and corporate, has given me the opportunity to serve under leaders I would follow with undeveloped visions and other leaders who I would question and doubt regardless the power of their vision. This is not to say there aren't visions that have overcome poor leadership, of course that has happened, but with much struggle and wasted time. For the most part a great vision will rise on fall on the shoulders of the leader.
Further, in nearly every organization in the world, someone is held accountable for failure. Not so in education. If the vision fails, who is held accountable for its failure? The principal is the easy answer. What about teachers? Do they bear any responsibility in the failure of a vision? If they do, what should be done? If we are all responsible for crafting the vision, should we not all be held responsible for the vision's success or failure? But, while there maybe awards and plaques for a successful vision, nothing will happen to those who are responsible for a vision failing. No loss of money, employment, or status. Will a mediocre staff make a great vision? Will a great vision make a mediocre staff great?
I am struck that an acceptable educational vision is made up obviously identifiable component parts. If they are so obviously identifiable and required to make a vision into an "acceptable vision," then why aren't all the schools just operating off of various versions or forms of the same vision? I mean, why doesn't someone just tell them what to write and be done with it. Putting vision creation into some straightforward formula where the results meet some pre-ordained vision type doesn't exactly inspire a lot of passion.
Vision involves passion. Passion implies risk. Risk is something most governmental organizations are averse to. Visions are risky are require passion. Are we ready to passionately pursue the risk of success or failure? However, without vision "the people perish." It is absolutely critical.
Vision Matrix
Nondiscussable Subjects: School Culture
Rob JacobsNondiscussable Subjects at My School
Last year I could have discussed easily much of the nondiscussable subjects at my school site. This year, however, has brought a new principal, and six new teachers to our school site. This has forced me to learn a whole new set of non-discussable knowledge.
One of the first things that comes to mind in where people sit at lunch. It really seems to rotate when we sit in the lounge, however, when we sit outside on our patio everyone seems to have assigned seats. It was never formalized, it just developed and is now quietly adhered to. Also, parking spots were never assigned, but everyone parks in the same spots. When I see a car I don’t recognize in a spot that “belongs” to a teacher I wonder who the person is that would park in that teacher’s spot. This is a major non-discussable for substitutes and student teachers. Even if teachers don’t say anything, everybody knows that someone is parking in someone else’s spot.
Probably the most difficult nondiscussable subject knowledge gap is those who don’t know about the cliques. Cliques are a very tangible and real part of my school site. There are certain teachers that can not stand each other and this grows into that teacher’s friends being expected to not like the other teacher as well. You are expected to show loyalty to your group by not sitting next to teachers from the other group and not speaking well of teachers from the other group in front of your group. With the new principal, one group that was very close to the old principal suddenly found itself outside looking in as a new group of teachers became the favorites. What is especially funny to watch is a teacher who is unaware of the cliques try to bring teachers from opposing cliques together to work on something. In addition, many teachers do not feel free to discuss matters involving the new principal around certain teachers viewed as favorites of the principal.
As a leader the only way to initiate conversation about a school’s non-discussable subjects is to ask questions. A leader must ask as many non-confrontational and non-judgmental questions as possible. The leader needs to ask lots of questions about why things are done a certain way or why things are not done. The answers to those questions will create the opportunity for even more questions and, in turn, even more knowledge about the school and the teachers who work there. Parents are also a good a resource to question about school culture.
Equally important is listening to the words that are used to answer these questions. Do the words seem to be open and free or do they closed and tentative. Words are powerful expressions of the staff’s thoughts on the subjects being discussed. This impacts the school culture in the form on nondiscussables. So, it is imperative that the site administrator ask great questions, listen to what and how the questions are answered, and then ask some more great questions.
file:///Users/robertjacobs/Documents/Nondiscussables.doc
Questions